The Los Angeles Lakers came to challenge the league's number one Phoenix Suns on the road. Shortly after the start of this game, fans received news of the Spurs' victory over the Nuggets, which means that if the Lakers lose this game, then they will end the season early and completely miss the playoff area. In the first half of the meeting, the Lakers have been struggling to maintain the situation on the court, trailing by only five points at the end of the half. However, after the start of the third quarter, the Suns significantly increased their intensity at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, playing a wave of 35-22 single-quarter scores, and in the end, with the stable play of Booker and Ayton, the Home Suns defeated the Lakers 121-110.
After losing to the Suns, the Lakers also ended their mission early, but it is very ironic that before the start of the season, the media and fans who are optimistic that the Lakers can win the championship are naturally not in the minority, but what they never expected is that in the end, the Lakers team did not even get a ticket to the play-off area. In this game, Lakers interior core Anthony Davis got a total of 35 minutes of playing time, 10 shots in 18 shots, 1 of 2 free throws, 21 points, 13 rebounds and 1 block, for a player who plays an inside line, 18 shots into 21 points of scoring efficiency is really not high.
In the course of the game, it is not difficult to see that AD after the comeback does not seem to adjust his game state, the whole game, he has been trying to avoid the hard physical confrontation, therefore, on the offensive end, AD has tried a total of 10 long-range shots, only hit three goals, the whole game, he even got only 2 free throws. Compared to AD, Howard, the interior of the fifth position, won six free throw opportunities in the first quarter of the game, and relied on hand-to-hand combat and hard-hitting under the basket to create two fouls for Ayton, which once caused great trouble to the Suns. Therefore, after the end of the game, many American media and fans expressed their disappointment in AD and said bluntly: "This guy should be tougher, do you believe it, he only won 2 free throws in the whole game?" ”
However, after the end of the game, AD also talked about the problems that have arisen with the Lakers this season in an interview after the game, saying: "Our goal this season is to win the championship, I thought we had the ability. But injuries have held back all that, and that's how we're different this season. When it comes to his health, AD also admits that his body is not 100% healthy, and today it is even more painful than usual. For AD's remarks, there are also many loyal Lakers fans who say they are not buying it.
After the start of next season, Lakers will be LeBron James is about to enter the 38-year-old age, from the course of this season we are not difficult to see, although this season James's performance on the offensive end is still strong, but the physical deterioration of his difficulty in taking into account the team's heavy responsibility at the defensive end, after James left the team or retired, the Lakers once wanted to cultivate AD into the core of the Purple and Gold Army, but with AD's attendance and overall performance this season, Can he really carry the future of the Lakers?